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Presidential race update

Fri, 07/08/2016 - 02:26 — mark donham

We're getting close to the conventions. The republicans are going first. They aren't ready, that's an understatement. The last several days, they have shot themselves in the foot repeatedly therefore squandering great opportunities to score points against Clinton. These are their best chances. The email thing is climaxing now and the republicans not only haven't gotten near enough to bring Clinton down, their candidate, Trump, has made unforced errors that drew negative attention toward him and away from Clinton.

I have said for awhile now that anything short of an indictment would not stop Clinton. I still believe that.

Add to that the specter of Sanders appearing with Clinton and campaigning for her. And add to that more Obama, Biden, Warren, Pelosi, and on and on democrats that will be appearing together on behalf of Clinton (oh yeah, is there another Clinton?).

Nevertheless, the mood of the country is one of disgust over government's seeming corruption and ineffectiveness. Many people think that the system needs a serious jolt. But, Trump isn't what most people had in mind. Besides, he has given the democrats any number of film clips of him saying stupid things on camera that can be used in campaign ads against him, and will be. He still hasn't released his tax returns, and that is going to become a louder and louder drumbeat. His bankruptcies are full of deals we can't imagine. People will really be digging into that the closer we get to the election.

As for Hillary, she has weathered the worst, and the worst is over before the convention. She can redefine herself, give the county a much longer view of her career, and push back against the poor poll numbers on whether she is "trustworthy and honest."

It's hard to believe that the republicans could allow what appears to be a disaster in the making to happen when they can see it coming. But they are caught between a rock and a hard place. They can't take a stand to bolster one group without driving away another.

Complacency and overconfidence are two things that can cause someone who is winning big to blow it. I think the party will lean on Obama watch over that. But elections can be unpredictable. Look at the Brexit vote. No one really thought they would vote to pull out - but they did. A certain turn of events at a certain time could swing a vote. It should be of utmost importance that people consider the issues and get involved in the election.